The old belief in free world trade has broken down on geopolitical reality. And it affects not only energy, technology and industry, but also a sector that is too often outside this debate: food.
The international order is changing fast. Multilateral institutions weaken, major powers increasingly use food as a geopolitical instrument and global food security declines due to conflict, instability and climate change. However, in the Netherlands there is no overall strategic vision of how we want to play our role as a food country.
The call for sovereignty and strategic autonomy sounds loud, but self-sufficiency in food is an illusion. The Netherlands cannot win competition with great powers on a scale - not economic, not ecological and certainly not geopolitical. Strategic relevance is elsewhere: in credible relationships and providing solutions to food problems.
That is where a role for Dutch food diplomacy lies: investing in equal cooperation, sustainable food systems and exploiting our knowledge network. That is not idealism, but, as Julia Rijssenbeek and Paul Bosman put in their article in the Volkskrant, strategic necessity.
Read it full article here